20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1870 original; edició 2015)

Děj románu začíná roku 1866, kdy se v anglických listech objevila zmínka o jakémsi mořském netvoru ohromných rozměrů, který napadá lodě. Tímto úkazem se zabývali i vědci. Jedni říkali, že je to ponorka a druzí tvrdili, že se jedná o dosud neznámého tvora. Nakonec Američané vyslali na moře fregatu Abraham Lincoln, která měla za úkol záhadu vyjasnit. Výpravy se zúčastnil také francouzský přírodovědec profesor Aronnax se svým sluhou Conseilem, kteří se na lodi seznámili s harpunářem Nedem Landem. Výprava byla dlouho neúspěšná, až jednou večer spatřila posádka světelnou záři vycházející kousek od lodi. Fregata se pokusila tvora pronásledovat a harpunovat. Najednou se však obluda otočila a plula ohromnou rychlostí směrem k lodi, se kterou se vzápětí srazila. Profesor Arronax, jeho sluha Conseil a harpunář Ned Land spadli při nárazu do vody. Zachránili se na hřbětě obludy, o které však brzy zjistili, že to opravdu není ryba ale ponorka. Z té vylezli čtyři muži, vtáhli je dovnitř a uvěznili v tmavé komoře. Příští den je tam navštívil jakýsi muž, který se představil jako kapitán Nemo a oznámil jim že se nacházejí v ponorce Nautilus, kterou nikdy nesmějí opustit, aby nevyzradili její tajemství. Jako nedobrovolní cestující prožili při podmořské plavbě neuvěřitelné příhody, poznali netušené krásy mořského dna a poučili se o přírodních zvláštnostech oceánů.

Převyprávění klasického příběhu.
Spolu s kapitánem Nemem, profesorem Aronnaxem a dalšími osobami na ponorce Nautilus se čtenář účastní fantastické podmořské výpravy kolem světa. Upravený text románu je doprovázen řadou fotografií, ilustrací a dopňujících informací týkajících se především mořských živočichů a rostlin. Knížka je vhodná pro starší děti.

Professor Aronnax, his faithful servant Conseil and Canadian harpooner Ned Land, begin an extremely dangerous journey to rid the seas of a little-known and terrifying sea monster. However, the "monster" turns out to be a giant submarine, commanded by the mysterious captain Nemo, by whom they are soon held captive.

One of the great adventure classics of Jules Verne, father of science fiction, a truly fantastic journey.

New empires and militarism were emerging in Europe and Asia, and the United States was recovering from an exhaustive civil war. Despite political instability, it was a time of revolutionary innovation. It was at this time that Jules Verne published 20,000 leagues under the sea.

Imagination is the mother of invention and Jules Verne was ahead of his time. When 20,000 leagues were published, submarines were small primitive devices, prone to sinking and virtually untested. This book brought submarines to full public awareness, stimulating innovation and experimentation. In addition to being imaginative, Jules Verne was impeccable in his research. The extent to which he included the scientific name of every creature under the sea was exhaustive. There are literally pages made up of lists of species, genera and family names for all the marine life they encountered. There is a meticulous description of everything. ( )

It's cool how he used imagination and tried to keep things as scientific as possible. I'm sure this story inspired many after it.

Merged review:

It's cool how he used imagination and tried to keep things as scientific as possible. I'm sure this story inspired many after it. ( )

It is 1867, and the nautical world is abuzz with rumors of a mysterious, colossal, phosphorescent creature roaming the planet's oceans and, in at least one instance, sinking ships. A hunting expedition is organized to track down the beast once and for all, and after months at sea but nary a glimpse of anything unusual, suddenly there it is. The crew immediately go to battle with harpoon and cannon, but the leviathan seems immune to all attack. Aronnax, a French professor, his assistant Conseil, and Ned the harpooner are swept into the sea, ultimately finding themselves miles from their ship and giving themselves up for lost when their arms and legs unexpectedly find purchase on a hard, metallic object. It is the beast — no longer beast at all, but a manmade submarine. A hatch opens, and they are immediately dragged inside, thus beginning the adventure of their lives.

This was a pretty wild romp. I might have finished more quickly if I hadn't felt compelled to follow along on their journey in Google Maps, but that was also part of the fun. There is a lot to take in, not least the many, many descriptions of fish, whales, corals, and other marine fauna and flora. About three quarters of the way through I began to suspect that Conseil's character and his penchant for classification was really just an excuse for the author to work more marine biology into the book. I normally enjoy detailed description, but it was a bit much. I laughed out loud at Aronnax' Freudian slips at the pearl farms, and it was also cool to note that Verne describes Stockholm Syndrome before there was even a term for it. For a classic, not bad. ( )